Better
by XlittlefallingstarX
Summary: Korrasami one-shot


1,399 words

Easy prompt: torn

Medium prompt: pineapple

Hard prompt: twin AU

* * *

Asami tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. She hated jail visits; they reminded her too much of her father's final years. Her sister had asked to see her for the first time in over a year, and Asami hadn't had the heart to refuse her. Just then, the door opened and two guards ushered her sister into the small room.

"Asami."

"Ri," Asami said, smiling slightly at the feel of her twin's old nickname on her lips.

"Akari will do," her sister snarled as she settled down into the chair opposite of Asami.

"Right, sorry." Asami nodded apologetically and looked her twin up and down. Their features were identical, but her sister's short, jagged haircut and dark under eye circles made them easy to tell apart. "It's good to see you."

"I wish I could say the same," Akari snapped.

Asami sighed wearily. Her sister had been arrested for taking her father's side in the Equalist movement years ago, but Asami had never felt anger or spite towards her sister like she had towards her father. Akari had always blindly followed their dad, and the only emotion Asami could muster up to feel for her nowadays was pity. "So, why did you want to speak with me?" Asami smiled somewhat awkwardly as she made a blind stab at conversation. "I've been trying to get ahold of you for ages."

"Sorry, guess I'm not often in the mood to talk to the woman who left her sister and father to rot in prison."

"You made your own choices, Akari," Asami snapped back. "That's not my fault."

Akari's eyes flashed. "Sure. Just like dad's death wasn't your fault, either. He made his own choice, right?"

Asami shot to her feet as anger swelled in her chest. "Yes, actually. He made the choice to sacrifice himself to save everyone. You know what? I don't have time for this. Let me know when you're ready to talk about something besides your bitter delusions."

"Asami, wait." Akari stood from her chair and snatched Asami's wrist. "I'm sorry, okay? That was out of line. I just wanted to talk to you to show you something."

Asami turned her head towards her sister. "Show me what?"

"Show you... _this_." With the hand not gripping Asami's wrist, Akari reached into the pocket of her jail uniform and scooped something out of it, then flung it at Asami. Asami let out an involuntary gasp as a soft, fine powder clouded around her. The gasp sucked a mouthful of the powder into her mouth, and Asami coughed as an acidic, tart, almost pineapple-like taste filled her mouth and nostrils.

Her eyes watered, and all of her senses but hearing seemed to dull as Akari's insane, jarring laughter bounced around in her head like a twisted echo. "Now you'll be just as miserable as me, sist-" Her voice was cut off, and Asami could only assume that the guards had tackled her.

Asami stumbled for the door and tumbled blindly into the hallway, gasping in lungfuls of clear air. She swiped water from her eyes and blinked hard until her world cleared.

A guard stepped out into the hallway with her and laid a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Miss Sato, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine." Asami straightened and forced a smile onto her face. "I'll just show myself out, if that's okay."

"Of course. I'm very sorry this happened, Miss Sato. I don't know how..."

Asami waved off his flustered babble and started for the doors leading out of the prison. "I'm perfectly okay." Asami made her way out of the prison and out into the cool evening air of Republic City.

She walked to her Satomobile, where Korra was waiting for her. "That was fast. How'd it go?"

Asami didn't so much as look at her girlfriend as she plopped down into the driver's seat and strapped herself in.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, huh?"

"I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Asami shouted, glaring at Korra.

Korra shrank back, obviously hurt. "Asami? Are you okay?"

"I'm _fine_." Asami turned into the street and floored the gas. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest as a demented, white-hot rage built up somewhere deep in her being. A separate, logical part of her mind started setting off alarm bells. What was wrong with her? She didn't feel like herself; that powder had done something to her mind.

"Asami, babe, do you want me to take the wheel? I don't know what happened in there, but you shouldn't drive in this kind of mood."

"Call me crazy, Korra, but I don't think you should be the one telling me how and when to drive." Asami honked her horn at an especially slow Satomobile and swerved around it, nearly mowing down a pedestrian in the process. "You couldnt drive a go-cart if the instructions were printed on the steering wheel."

"Asami!" Korra reached over and grabbed the steering wheel just as she was about to speed through a red light.

Asami lifted her foot from the gas as the steering wheel was torn from her grasp. "What's your problem?"

"What's _my_ problem? What's up with you?!" Korra guided the car into an alleyway and shifted it into park as soon as Asami begrudgingly hit the brake to avoid slamming into a wall. "Talk to me, Asami. What happened in there?"

"That's none of your business, idiot, but if you must know, my _loooovely_ sister had a temper tantrum and threw powder in my face."

"Powder? What type of powder?" Korra asked in concern.

Asami opened the door of the Satomobile and hopped out, slamming the door for good measure. "I don't know, but it tasted like rotten pineapple or something. Now leave me alone!"

"Rotten pineapple? That sounds like the poison a waterbending healer used to tell me about when I was growing up. Asami, your sister blasted you with with madman's berry powder!" Korra launched herself out of the car with airbending and landed in front of Asami, blocking her path.

"Korra, you're not making any sense. Leave me alone already." The reasonable part of Asami's mind was shrinking as it was smothered little by little with pure rage. "Get out of my way!"

"No. If you let it take hold of your brain, the berry powder will completely take over your mind and the damage will be permanent. You need to experience a positive emotion to cleanse your system of the anger."

"Bullshit." Asami lashed out with a high, sweeping kick to Korra's face.

The Avatar let out a little yelp and ducked down just in time. "Asami, you have to listen to me."

"I've told you over and over! Leave. ME. ALONE!" Asami reared back a fist and slammed it into Korra's face. This time her girlfriend didn't dodge in time, and her knuckles collided with Korra's jaw, hard.

Korra winced and reached up to rub her jaw. "Okay. I'll leave you alone. Right after _this_." Before Asami could react, Korra pushed her up against the wall of the alley and kissed her.

" _Mmph_!" Asami grunted in indignant surprise at the kiss and was just about to shove her away when something happened. The tiny, logical part of her brain that wasn't yet quite consumed with the rage exploded outward at the familiar feeling of her girlfriend's lips over hers. Memories of the love and laughter and kisses and blissful sensations that Asami had experienced with Korra over the course of their relationship filled her mind and chased away the darkness until she felt full of light and warmth.

Korra eased her soft lips off of her girlfriend's and brought a hand up to cup the side of Asami's face as their foreheads pressed gently together. "Better?" she murmured.

Asami let out a little embarrassed laugh as the events that had just unfolded flashed across her mind. She whispered a single word in reply before bringing her lips to Korra's for more.

"Better."


End file.
